Nigeria Launches First Home-Grown Gas Leak Detection Device, Recommits To R&D In Oil Sector

The federal government on Thursday officially launched Nigeria’s first home-grown gas leak detection device manufacturing plant, stressing that it will help reduce the heavy loss of lives and property in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of the facility built by Amal Technology, the Minister of State, Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, described the event as a significant landmark and a breakthrough in local manufacturing of electronic circuitry and devices.

The innovation was supported by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) under its erstwhile Executive Secretary, Mr Simbi Wabote.

Lokpobiri explained that the facility was one of the proposals that had benefited from the NCDMB’s research and innovation intervention, which included the adoption of Internet of Things (IOT) for its operation.

The minister was represented by the Director, Upstream at the Ministry of Petroleum, Kamoru Busari.

According to him, the new facility has the capability to generate a Short Message System (SMS) and call phones of homeowners in the event of a gas leak as well as the capability for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing.

In line with NCDMB’s mandate to drive indigenous technology development in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Lokpobiri noted that the board had been focusing on providing institutional and funding support for market-driven research and commercialisation of breakthrough innovations with high market prospects.

He noted that a major plank under President Bola Tinubu’s administration was the commitment to deepen gas penetration and gas-based industrialisation anchored on the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles, and gas conversion for power generation, fertiliser production, among others.

The deployment of the flagship Amal technology gas leak detection device, he said, provides a significant safety tool that will accelerate the adoption of gas as a preferred source of energy for homes, transportation, and industry.

To support Nigeria’s net-zero target by 2060, he explained that targets were underway to establish fuel-to-gas conversion centres and CNG refuel stations nationally.

“The federal government expects that the deployment of the Amal Technology safety device will also complement our efforts to accelerate the net-zero pathway.

“Furthermore, the Job creation potential of start-up companies such as Amal Technologies is critical to the creation of a circular economy and aligns with Mr. President’s eight-point agenda for economic recovery,” he added.

In his remarks, the new Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Omatsola Ogbe, stated that the smart gas leak detector research was just a proposal submitted to the board in 2018, while the idea was nurtured through the NCDMB’s incubation process hosted in the innovation centre.

“The recurring menace of gas leaks and explosions leading to heavy losses in human lives, property damage, and pollution of the environment is the problem statement that the device seeks to address.

“We may recall that in 2020, a gas explosion in Lagos took over 20 lives including students, injuring over 200, and displaced over 500 Nigerians. 2021 also saw record six deadly gas explosions claiming scores of human lives and more recently in 2022 and 2023 preventable gas explosions in Kano, and various parts of Lagos claimed many lives and property.

“As Nigeria’s development priorities trend towards gas-based industrialisation with an exponential increase in gas utilisation, it has become even more compelling to deploy safety and preventive tools such as the Amal smart gas leak detection to ensure the safety of lives and properties as the citizens embrace gas usage,” Ogbe stated.

He added that the PCB manufacturing will provide the springboard for the replacement of imported PCBs with locally produced ones, in line with the vision to be the catalyst for the industrialisation of the Nigerian economy and its linkage sectors.

According to him, the facility will also generate employment opportunities, pay due taxes, and provide a critical platform for instrumentation and electronics-related research and development.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive of Amal Technologies Limited, Tijjani Abdullahi, said he approached the NCDMB five years ago, with an idea of the product, even when he had never had a prior relationship or encounter with anybody there.

“That is indeed proof that the NCDMB is not about having connections or knowing someone at the top. It is about a team of people that are dedicated to the success and progress of local content in Nigeria,” he noted.

 Aside from detecting gas leakages and smoke, he added that it also triggers an alarm and sends real-time notifications to users’ mobile phones.

“Furthermore, this facility has the capacity to produce over 2 million Advanced Smart Electric Meters— a significant contribution to the federal government’s National Mass Metering programmes (NMMP).

“This initiative aligns with our commitment to addressing the current challenges in electrical metering in Nigeria and supporting the government’s efforts to ensure a reliable and efficient power supply,” he added.

Also at the event were the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake as well as the Minister of State, Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, among others.

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

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